


Dear Moira

by Parvum



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout - Fandom, Fallout 3
Genre: Epistolary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-05-05
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:24:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6751999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parvum/pseuds/Parvum
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several letters, addressed to Moira and covered in dog drool, detailing what happened to the mercenary she sent to collect data on Old Olney's deathclaw population. It would be easy, she said. They're probably big softies, she said.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dear Moira

Dear Moira,

Enclosed, please find all my research notes thus far collected on Old Olney's deathclaw population:  
-They are far bigger in person. Considerably larger. In all my travels I have never seen anything approaching the size of an adult deathclaw, easily over eight feet in height. I'm trying to say that you might have been a little misleading when you said they were "a bit bigger than a brahmin."  
-I can tell you they are highly territorial. I didn’t even notice the yao guai wandering several hundred meters from the blasted out buildings, but clearly multiple deathclaws did and they descended on it like two tonne coyotes.  
-Now that I've had the misfortune of seeing a deathclaw next to a mutated grizzly bear, maybe we can revisit the issue of how huge they are?  
-Aw, that's kind of cute. They have some little baby deathclaws and they're showing them how to eat the yao guai. The big deathclaws are ripping strips of flesh off the corpse and... ew. Oh god. I’m going to double check the zeros on my contract one more time.  
-DID THEY SEE ME  
-I don’t think they saw me.  
-SHIT I THINK THEY SAW ME  
-I think they were actually just looking around. It’s hard to tell from this distance. My binoculars only zoom so far.  
I’m sending Rani to deliver this letter. She’s a smart dog, but she’s also a drooler so pardon the stains. She’ll wait with you until you’ve composed a response, please give her a treat for her trouble. She loves crispy squirrel bits. That’s it for day one. I’m going to camp here tonight, probably not as close as you were hoping but I’ve still got a clear view of Old Olney. Can I expect that bonus you promised for sleeping with the deathclaw pack? Like, you didn’t seriously expect me to walk right up to them, right?

Write me back,  
Kaul

 

Dear Moira,

You’re joking? Please tell me you’re joking. Do you drink from that radioactive cesspool in the middle of your town? I am not going to walk right into Olney for your crazy book! It’s full of deathclaws! It’s becoming real clear to me that you don’t have the slightest idea what a deathclaw actually is. They are gigantic, nigh invulnerable, aggressive, evil, vicious monst  
Oh my god that was the cutest deathclaw I’ve ever seen. You want field research? Check this out. I got up close and personal with a real live deathclaw! Well, a deathclaw baby. I found Rani playing tug-of-war with one using a brahmin carcass- additional note: I trained Rani to never attack brahmin, so I can only assume that even infant deathclaws can hunt? Anyways, I nearly blasted the little guy’s head off when I noticed he wasn’t actually fighting with Rani, just yanking on the corpse. I called Rani to heel- stupid dog was wagging her tail the whole time! -and started backing away.  
I thought he was gonna jump us, then I’d have to shoot his head off and run like hell before his mom caught up. But no! Pup just grabs the brahmin and gives it a couple yanks, making gurgling sounds at us. Rani jumps at the jerking corpse before I can stop her and they’re back at it, pulling and growling.  
Rani is (somehow) still alive and so am I, and the little deathclaw didn’t seem aggressive so I used the opportunity to make some hasty sketches and see what I could observe (sketches with this letter. Sorry for the drool again and also the quality- I had to draw them while holding a gun in my good hand. Better safe than sorry, right?). You’ll notice his eyes are all milky? I think he’s blind. When I told Rani to be quiet and I held my breath, the little guy started sniffing around for us until we made noise again.  
I’m pretty sure he’s exclusively carnivorous, but I don’t have any real way to check. I only had one deathclaw and less than ideal test conditions. I can tell you he liked bugs, though. He turned down a squirrel-on-a-stick I offered him (full up on the brahmin corpse?), but scarfed down some old bloatfly meat I stowed away for emergencies (unrelated thought: how long does it take for mutant animal meat to decompose?). In fact, bugs were the only way I could get him to leave. Once he knew I had meat, the little guy kept on following me and gurgling for more. Had to leave all my bug meat in a pile and left my radio there so he couldn’t hear us leave. You can reimburse me for that.  
Anyways, I’m sending Rani along with the letter. I can still see Olney, but I should be far enough away to be safe. I assume my notes will be good enough for your book.

Ace Field Biologist,  
Kaul

 

Dear Moira,

No.

Sincerely,  
Kaul

 

Dear Moira,

Because I will die. Because approaching the deathclaws will make me dead. Because deathclaws are vicious killers. Because the word deathclaw is made of claw, a weapon, and death, a thing that kills you. I am a professional, and that means I know when to NOT take stupid risks. I don’t care how many stealth boys you can provide, being invisible won’t help me a lick if there are other blind deathclaws like that little baby- they all hunt. It would be a much better investment to use my gear to find another opportunity, or just sell what I’ve collected to some other wasteland lunatic.  
Not a chance. Not going to happen. I am not getting near those things even if you doubled my pay.

You’re insane,  
Kaul

 

Dear Moira,

Allow me to clarify that the tripling of my wage applies to the base payment, and that reimbursement for the equipment and supplies will not be included but overtime and the use of my skillset during your operation will. Enclosed please find a rough write-up of my bill so far and note that additional charges will be incurred and totalled post-expedition.  
I don't know why you thought a gauntlet schematic would "sweeten the deal" but I'll take it. Every bit counts with the hazard pay I'm going to be expecting.

You're lucky your caps are good,  
Kaul

 

Der Hoomin

Tiny lady wuz delishis. U shud send mor.

Luv  
The dethclas

 

Dear Moira,

I am worried about you. I am seriously concerned about your perceptions of reality. If a grown woman honestly believes that a pack of animals could write a letter and request fresh victims,what does that say about her ability to pay me? These supplies you're promising me aren't just crates full of clipboards and coffee mugs,are they? If I get back to find my payment has been a delusional fantasy all this time,you're going to wish you had gone into Old Olney yourself. I'm not going to bother addressing how eager you were to comply.  
I've got some interesting finds,but first let's address the insane risks I went through for your mad scientist curiosity. I doubt you've got the wherewithal to dispute the extra hazard pay outlined in the fine print of my contract, but I didn’t get this far without properly citing workplace hazards.  
I took every precaution I could reasonably be expected to take. The blind deathclaw baby showed me that being invisible wouldn't be enough- even if he was the only blind lizard in the pack I couldn't count on him being full a second time. Rani had to stay behind, obviously. Just me, the quietest boots I could find, and roughly my own body weight in stealth boys, grenades, and cateye.  
(Side note: you don't seem to have any cateye here in DC. If a night vision chem sounds appealing to you, we can talk about buying some if you've got caps left over after this contract.)  
I was right to be worried about the blind deathclaw, but being quiet wasn’t enough. The little one had stalked me through half of Old Olney before I realised it was tracking me through scent, not sound. Fortunately I was able to lose him by dumping the rest of my meat and sneaking away while the pup was distracted.  
Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only blind deathclaw in the pack.  
An observation: only the blind deathclaws picked up my scent during the job. This leads me to believe that blindness leads to a sharpening of their other senses like can be seen in certain humans. They seem to track almost entirely by smell alone, because once I was able to mask my own scent the two blind adults left me alone entirely.  
Another observation: In less than a minute, the technology in a pre-war Stealth Boy can adapt to recognize and cloak equipment and apparel of its user. This ranges from worn gear, held weapons, and even deathclaw stool. I’d say I’m not getting payed enough for this, but I really am.  
But I’m sure you don’t care about the risks to my life, or the disgusting improvisations I had to make to stay alive. You’re probably not even reading this, just skimming along until you get to the next part.  
Well you can start reading again here.  
I found a secure perch atop an old ruined building, most of the floor long since collapsed. The sound of climbing attracted some attention but with those claws and all that weight there was no way a deathclaw could follow me up. From there I got a good view of the deathclaw pack, and I’ve got to admit that it was a… different experience from staring at them through my binoculars.  
Adolescent deathclaws were darting back and forth throughout the buildings like they were chasing something, and it took a moment before I realised they were chasing each other and not looking for me. After enough running they just tired out and stopped. They might have been engaging in some kind of play… which has terrifying implications for deathclaw intelligence. I also noticed that the young moved from adult to adult, and each one tended to the young in a similar manner (sniffing, preening, etc.). I’ve got a strong suspicion that the younger deathclaws are raised communally.  
But not the infants! Oh wait until you hear about this. I only caught a glimpse of her, but she was huge and dark and had horns that swept straight back! Surrounding her were tiny little baby deathclaws, likely including the little blind one from earlier. She was gone as soon as she left, so I couldn’t make any solid observations at this time. But I’ll bet you anything that this matriarch is responsible for the youngest deathclaws, maybe even the one that hatches them?  
What I can’t wrap my head around is whether or not the deathclaws are sexually dimorphic. The matriarch would suggest so, with her unique horns and darker skin tone. Since the cateye makes everything a shade of blue it’s hard to tell for certain, but I think her hide is a different colour. I’ve also caught one or two of those kinds with huge horns that curve forward- basically the same as our standard deathclaw but a little bigger, and with a hide darker than any of the others. I’ve heard of these guys before. Mercs called them ‘alpha males’ but since there are at least two of them in this pack I don’t think that’s accurate.  
I don’t think they’re completely nocturnal. After a little unrest most of them have settled back down, likely they were only up because of the blind deathclaws I had alerted earlier. Perhaps they are twilight hunters rather than night time predators. You know, when they’ve put down their heads for the night and started sleeping you can almost forget how long their claws are.  
Almost.  
That’s all the observation I’m likely to make today. Time to settle in for a bit. I’m secure here, so I’ll get a good sleep, maybe use a stealth boy to get some more research done tomorrow, and get the hell out of Old Olney before I catch a severe case of death. Day #2’s notes, if any, will be attached to this letter.

 ~~Dear Moir~~  
Day 2  
He came back. The blind one was sniffing around the base of my hiding spot when I woke up the next morning. I might have mistaken his age. I thought he was a newborn from his size, but so far he’s the only infant deathclaw I’ve seen away from the matriarch. So either he’s prone to getting lost, or more likely he’s a runt adolescent. I’m not buying the ‘blind and lost’ angle, since it’s plain and obvious he found me. Peepers- that’s what I’ll call him -is making the same hungry grunting sound he made the day before. I shouldn’t have fed him. He’s started associating me with food, and seems to be far more perceptive than the other deathclaws- though that won’t matter much if he keeps making noise around my hiding spot. Many of the adults left early this morning. I wanted to wait to see if they might be bringing back food from a twilight hunt, but now it looks like I’ll never know. With them gone, this is my best opportunity to sneak out of here with both my notes and my life- I refuse to become a decorative corpse with a note for the next adventurer to find!  
I’ll throw a rock or something to distract Peepers. Ideally, he’ll think it’s food and run to investigate. Meanwhile, I’ll activate the remainder of my stealth boys and make my escape. Infiltrating took a larger number than I expected. This will be reflected in Moira’s bill. If my escape is unsuccessful, I’d just like to clarify that these notes I have taken are a valuable research tool. I’d hate to think of this sale never being completed- please take my sketches and notes to Moira, in Craterside Supply in Megaton. If that stupid bomb has gone off… I don’t know. Find someone. And, if Rani is still alive, take care of my dog. She’s a good girl. She’ll be waiting at my camp south of Old Olney. Bring her my headband. She’ll trust you.

 

I had forgotten about the other blind deathclaws. While some of the sighted deathclaws reacted to the stone I threw, it seems the blind ones heard it from halfway across Old Olney. I didn’t see either of them before I climbed back down to the ground, but I as I turned the corner of the building it was there, hunting. I was so close to it that I could think of nothing but to turn and try to get away. I got careless, my foot caught on a chunk of ruined building, and the noise of my collapse caught the attention of every deathclaw I had attracted with the thrown stone.  
I trust I’ve properly established how deadly a deathclaw is, and thus how impressive was my calmness of action.  
I reached for the first grenade I could grasp and spun onto my back to throw it straight at the blind deathclaw. No VATS, no time. I had no idea if a hand grenade could hurt a deathclaw, let alone disable it, so I took the liberty to perform some further field research on their reactions when exposed to a pyrotechnic mix of magnesium and aluminum post combustion.  
After the flashbang detonated, I made a discovery that, in my opinion, is well worth the extra 500 caps I’m sure you agreed to pay before I passed you a single word of these research notes. While I was certainly hoping that they would be disorientated by the blast, I did not expect them to flee. I am absolutely positive this was an involuntary response to the piercing noise, and not a typical fear reaction, as even the blind deathclaws fled from the blast as fast as they could. Once they had regained their senses, I was far enough away that almost none of them were able to follow me.  
How is that for a “sustainable solution?” I don’t know why you would be looking for any other form of deathclaw control when you live next to a perfectly functional atomic bomb, but if you really need some way to deter them then it seems the correct frequency of sound may be exactly what you should be looking into. You insane woman. And no, I won’t be coming straight back- once I pick up Rani, we’re going to be stopping somewhere to pick up a cart to hold all the money you owe us for this job.

Looking forward to taking your money,  
Kaul

 

Dear Moira,

I’m glad you appreciated my work on the Old Olney job. You should. It was fantastic. And you payed me appropriately. That was good. It was a good exchange. We had a good time. I mean, I would have appreciated it if you took Peepers off my hands. I’m sick of filing his nails and he eats almost as much as Rani. But overall, things went well.  
Now why would I go ruining that with another insane suicide mission?  
I’m sure another lunatic more interested in money and adventure than her own life will walk through those rusted metal doors before long. They won’t be as good as me, of course, but who would? I’m sure she’ll be a great fit for you.  
I’m telling you now, you really can’t afford the price to put me on another job like that.

Goodbye Forever,  
Kaul

 

Dear Moira,

Let’s just review one more time: I will be keeping a running tab of every piece of equipment I will use, every considerable use of my skill or risk to my body or those of my nonhuman assistants. The price agreed upon contains no unexpected decimal points and will be delivered in full upon completion of the job, in addition to hazard pay. We’re clear on all that.  
Now clear one more thing up for me. I can see the RobCo factory from where we’re camping now and should be in by tomorrow morning. So just to doublecheck- you aren’t actually asking me to turn on the security system while I’m still inside the building? Right?

Why do I even ask,  
Kaul


End file.
